Location and Accessibility
Dalaguete
lies at the southeastern side of Cebu Province and is bounded on the north by
Argao, on the south by Alcoy, on the east by Bohol Strait, and on the west by
Badian and Alegria. With the town’s
center that is 84 kilometers from Cebu City, Dalaguete is part of the second
congressional district of the province.
From outside
the country, Dalaguete can be reached by plane through Cebu’s Mactan
International Airport, the country’s second busiest port of entry and is
directly and indirectly linked to many cities in Asia, US and Europe. From Manila, it takes only one hour to reach
Mactan International Airport by plane.
Dalaguete can be reached by car from the airport in two hours, passing
through the reclamation roads on Mandaue City and Cebu City and the South
Coastal Road in Talisay connects to the newly-widened and paved highway to the
south and Dalaguete.
Physical Features and
Climate
Dalaguete
has a very limited and flat lands that are mostly found along its 10 coastal
barangays. Lands 500 meters and above in
elevation cover the western side of the municipality. One of the highest points in the province is
the Osmeña Peak in Mantalongon, which rises to about one thousand seventy two meters
above sea level.
The local
climate is typically tropical. The
temperature is high and varies little with a difference of about 3 degrees
centigrade between the coldest month that occurs around January and the hottest
month around May. The mountainous
barangays are cold and Mantalongon is considered as the “Little Baguio of
Cebu”. Average daytime temperature
except in the mountainous region ranges from 22.2 to 32.1 degrees centigrade. Humidity is 77%. Average rainful recorded is 1,808 millimeters
per year.
People and Culture
Dalaguete
registered a total population of 21.4 thousand during the census made by the
occupying forces in 1903. This increased
to 61.4 thousand by the time the last census was conducted in 2007,
representing a little over 1.0 percent increase annually. Ninety eight percent
of the Dalaguetnons are Roman Catholic and 99% percent have the Cebuano dialect
for their mother tongue. Many can speak
and write Filipino and English.
Friendliness,
warmth, and natural sense of hospitality are find traits that endeared the
Dalaguetnons to many people here and abroad.
Shaped by Chinese, Spanish and American influences, the Dalaguitnons
display a diverse but unique Filipino culture and tradition. Strong family ties and belief in God are two
dominant traits that mark the people of Dalaguete.
The Economy
The economy
of Dalaguete is predominantly agricultural.
Many of the people depend on crop production and fishing for
livelihood. Industry is only a minor
activity which is mainly in coal mining and cottage level production of
handicrafts and Dalaguete delicacy food products. Agricultural utilizes more than 4,000
hectares of land, divided into more than six thousand farms units or less than
a hectare per farm in average that produces 70,000 to 80,000 kilos of high
value crops and other variety of vegetables has been delivered daily to Cebu
and other neighboring towns.
In
the highlands, people plant vegetables because of good soil and cool
climate. Mantalongon, the trading center
of the highland barangays, is called as the “Vegetable Basket of Cebu”. Its Baguio-like climate also earned for
itself the name “Summer Capital of Cebu”.
